Music legend Phil Collins has opened up about his heartbreaking health struggles in a rare and candid interview.
The 73-year-old Genesis frontman has become increasingly immobile over the past 15 years while dealing with the debilitating effects of nerve damage caused by injured vertebrae in his upper neck.
As a result, he relies on a cane or wheelchair to get around. In a poignant new documentary, Phil Collins: Drummer First, available on YouTube's Drumeo channel, Phil shares the devastating impact decades of drumming has had on his body, the Mirror reports.
With drumming now a significant challenge, Phil confessed: "If I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks, then I'll have a crack of it. But I just feel like I've used up my air miles.
"It's still kind of sinking in a bit. I've spent all my life playing drums. To be suddenly not be able to do that is a shock. If I can't do what I did as well as I did it, I'd rather relax and not do anything."
The documentary, filmed in 2022 and released this week, reveals Collins' self-perception as a drummer first, despite his global hits like Against All Odds, Easy Lover, In The Air Tonight, Another Day In Paradise and Sussidio. He states: "I'm not a singer that plays a bit of drums; I'm more of a drummer that sings a bit."
In the one-off episode, Phil's son Nic, who now performs with Genesis as Phil can't, shared that his father needed "big surgery on his neck that stemmed from all those years playing drums and bad posture."
He also disclosed that Phil suffers from drop-foot, where one of his feet has no sensation. Phil performed his last ever gig with Genesis at London's O2 Arena in March 2022, bidding farewell to his fans and humorously suggesting he'll now have to get a 'real job'.
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Despite appearing frail and needing to sit for the performance, it was still an iconic moment. The band, which includes Phil and fellow members Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, staged a comeback with their tour, The Last Domino?, marking the first live Genesis performances in 14 years.
Phil opened up to The Guardian about the necessary alterations to their performances due to his health, stating: "Of course, my health does change things, doing the show seated changes things. But I actually found on my recent solo tours, it didn't get in the way; the audience were still listening and responding. It's not the way I would have written it, but it's the way that it is."
Further revealing the extent of his condition on the Genesis website, Phil disclosed: "Somehow, during the last Genesis tour, I dislocated some vertebrae in my upper neck and that affected my hands. After a successful operation on my neck, my hands still can't function normally. Maybe in a year or so it will change, but for now it is impossible for me to play drums or piano."
Phil also confessed to a past battle with alcohol, which resulted in acute pancreatitis. Recounting the ramifications of being told he may be unable to drum again, Phil admitted at a press conference in 2016: "Within months you're drinking vodka from the fridge in the morning and falling over in front of the kids, you know."
He acknowledged the gravity of the situation, adding: "It was something I lived through, and I was lucky to live through it and get through it. I was very close to dying."
In 2013, doctors warned him of permanent damage to his pancreas, prompting him to abstain from alcohol for three years. Nowadays, he's more lenient with himself.
He shared with the Mirror: "I didn't drink for all that time but now I am quite capable of having two or three glasses of wine, saying goodnight and walking away".
On a BBC Breakfast appearance last year, Genesis guitarist Rutherford provided an update on Collins' condition: "Phil is much more immobile than he used to be, which is a shame. But at the tour, he was in good spirits and he's fine now at home, enjoying life. He's worked so hard over the years, I think he's enjoying his time at home."
You can watch the full Phil Collins: Drummer First on YouTube here.
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